On Sunday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the accession of King Frederik X to the throne from the balcony of the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, where he also appeared in front of the public for the first time as king.
Frederiksen thanked Queen Margrethe II for her service to the country.
“The Crown Prince will now be our king, we know him, love him and trust him,” the Prime Minister said.
She wished the new head of state all the best and, according to tradition, wished the king nine times for his health.
Then King Frederik X of Denmark delivered the first speech.
“My mother, Queen Margrethe, ruled Denmark for 52 years. She followed the times, but she took our common heritage as her starting point. Today she has left the throne, but I hope to be the king who unites the country of tomorrow. This is a responsibility I take on with respect, pride and great joy. I need all the support I can get from my beloved wife, my family, from you and from God,” he said.
This was preceded by the ceremony of Queen Margrethe II’s abdication, which she unexpectedly announced in her New Year’s speech on December 31.
Frederik is Margrethe’s eldest son. The title of Crown Prince of Denmark was passed to Frederik’s eldest son, Christian.
According to preliminary estimates by the Danish police, up to 100,000 people gathered in Copenhagen to celebrate the transfer of power.
In honor of the new king, a fireworks display will be held in the harbor of the Danish capital – three times 27 shots from four guns, and late in the evening a fireworks show will be organized in the Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli Gardens.
There is no coronation ceremony in the Danish tradition.
The Danish monarchy is the oldest in Europe, dating back to the tenth century.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree appointing Andriy Yanevsky as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Denmark.
The relevant document No. 714/2023 was published on the President’s website.
The decree comes into force on the day of its publication.
Previously, Andriy Yanevsky served as Head of the Department for Supporting the Work of the Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
By another decree, the President of Ukraine dismissed Mykhailo Vydoinyk from the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Denmark.
The relevant decree No. 710/2023 was published on the President’s website.
The decree comes into force on the day of its publication.
Mykhailo Vydoinyk has been Ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Denmark since June 25, 2018.
Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark Jakob Jensen have signed a memorandum of understanding between the agriculture ministries of the two countries, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported.
“The signing of the memorandum is aimed at long-term strategic cooperation to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production and agriculture,” the statement said.
According to the document, the parties will exchange information and experience in the field of green transition of agriculture and food systems, including joint policies and climate solutions; in the field of food safety and food security.
Ukraine and Denmark are also interested in the prospects of livestock development, including management, animal welfare, animal health, animal breeding, feed and organic farming.
Ukraine and Denmark will set up a joint working group to identify areas of cooperation.
Solsky thanked the Danish government for its support and assistance. According to him, Danish farmers have been successfully developing their business in Ukraine for the past 15 years. They are not deterred by the war in Ukraine.
“Denmark is one of the examples of agriculture in Europe and the world of how to be efficient and profitable. And an example of very high technology. We are interested in investments and in a greater presence of Danes in Ukrainian business. This is a good experience, an extremely high-quality approach, something we would like to learn from, something we want to follow,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized.
In turn, Jensen expressed confidence in the effectiveness of cooperation with Ukraine in the agricultural sector.
The Danish government proposes to increase aid for Ukraine’s civil needs from DKK 1.2 billion to DKK 1.5 billion next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
“Denmark will increase the scope of assistance for the development of Ukraine, which will again become the largest recipient country of Danish aid. In the Finance Law for 2024, the government proposes to increase from DKK 1.2 billion to DKK 1.5 billion (about $43.5 million) allocated for the civil needs of Ukraine and the countries of the Eastern Neighborhood within the Ukraine Fund of Ukraine,” the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Minister for International Development and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen noted that “assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is a top priority for the government.”
“Therefore, this year we again allocate a record high amount to civilian needs in order to continue to provide important support and help overcome the difficult consequences of the war. Ukraine’s recovery will be long, and the needs are huge,” the minister stressed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that the assistance will be aimed at providing emergency assistance to the victims of the war, as well as restoring the most important infrastructure of Ukraine.
“At the request of Ukraine itself, the government has taken on special responsibility for the city of Mykolaiv and its restoration. In Mykolaiv, Denmark is helping provide better access to water and heat, as well as restoring and repairing residential areas, schools and medical facilities,” the Danish ministry notes.
In addition, Denmark will assist countries such as Georgia and Moldova by accelerating the reforms and large-scale democratization processes they face as the consequences of the Russian invasion extend to neighboring countries with Ukraine, “which are suffering from Russian influence, the reception of Ukrainian refugees and power supply problems.”
During his working visit to Denmark, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Queen Margrethe II and members of the royal family.
“Meeting with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and members of the royal family. The statements and actions of the Royal Family of Denmark in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people mean a lot to us. We appreciate the royal family’s personal support for the humanitarian efforts of Danish and international organizations operating in Ukraine,” he said in the Telegram channel.
The head of state also expressed gratitude to the Danish people, government and parliament for the powerful humanitarian, financial and military assistance to Ukraine.
“We will always be grateful for the support and mutual understanding that our struggle for life and freedom meets here,” the president said.
In particular, he noted the activities of Denmark within the Support Fund for Ukraine, aimed at restoring Ukrainian schools, hospitals, bomb shelters, water, heat and energy supply, etc.
According to Zelenskyy’s press service, he invited members of the royal family – Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary to support investment and humanitarian projects that Ukraine and Denmark are jointly implementing.
During the audience with the Queen, the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska was also present.
Friday, May 26, at the Ukrainian Investment Forum in Copenhagen, it was announced the launch of a Danish investment fund social program for Ukraine totaling DKK 1 billion, which is about $133 million, the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine reported.
“Denmark is one of the leaders in financial assistance to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion the total military support amounted to $1.4 billion and the total humanitarian aid, including macrofinancial assistance – $212 million. The Ukrainian government highly appreciates Danish support and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation and further involving Danish businesses in the reconstruction projects in Ukraine. Thus, special investment fund, created for Ukraine, will finance projects with the use of the best Danish technologies and innovative solutions and will be available for both public and private sectors”, – noted the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko.
As Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Griban noted, the main cooperation between Ukraine and Denmark is establishment of mutually beneficial relations, when Ukrainian companies not only import Danish products, but also localize the production of such products in Ukraine.
“We are interested in Danish technologies and we see big prospect in application and localization of Danish companies in Ukraine in priority branches. In particular, these are renewable energy, construction materials, technologies of municipal economy renovation as well as defense and dual-purpose technologies”, he said.
In addition, the forum announced funding approval of two pilot projects in the field of agriculture and agro-processing. The question is about the affected companies of the southern region – “Nibulon”, which will receive a credit of 25 mln Euros, and “Agrofusion” – 15 mln Euros. Also, loans will be granted to agricultural companies located near the front line in Mykolayiv, which will restore the destroyed production facilities, buying equipment from Danish exporters.
According to Griban, the Danish fund will not only provide financial guarantees, but will also directly carry out lending, which puts it on a separate level of financial institutions that have opened their programs for Ukraine. Also, the Danish government plans to significantly increase the limits and expand the financial assistance program for Ukraine.
“We don’t have to wait for the war to stop. We would like to attract Danish business in the early stages of Ukraine’s recovery. We must act and support the Ukrainian economy,” stressed Morten Bedskov, Minister of Entrepreneurship of Denmark.
